it held firm in pennsylvania, virginia, north carolina, and florida. and it decreased in two states, new york and alabama. neither case was it even close. so much for flagging enthusiasm. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball." john mccain and his allies have been trying to turn the benghazi attacks into a political scandal for the president since september. well, yesterday his criticism of susan rice, the ambassador to the u.n., went too far for the president. he hit back during his press conference. let's listen. >> if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador, who had nothing to do with benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. >> that's the slow burn from the president, i'd say. this morning mccain had some strong words for his former opponent, the president. let's listen to mccain. >> i know that people don't come to spontaneous demonstrations